Gadsden Goodyear plant has first layoffs since 1999

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Gadsden plant in November had its first layoff in 13 years, according to plant officials.

By Andy PowellTimes Staff Writer

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Gadsden plant in November had its first layoff in 13 years, according to plant officials.Fifty-three employees were laid off, retiring Plant Manager Jim Davis said last week.Davis, whose last day was Monday, blamed the poor economy for the layoffs. He said the plant, which instituted a hiring freeze early in 2012, had to cut 101 positions during the year. Forty-eight positions were eliminated through attrition, the rest through layoffs.“The economy has been our biggest enemy,” he said.Davis said the plant went through a difficult time in 2008 and again this year, and that the last nine months have been the most difficult and challenging during his tenure as manager.“The plant did everything it could,” he said. “I’m disappointed that the downturn in the economy finally caught up with us and we had to reduce head count in the plant.”A two-week reduction in tire production in late September and October, designed to balance tire inventories, affected about a fourth of the plant’s employees, but Davis said additional cost saving measures were needed.Communications Manager Jackie Brehm Edmondson said this was the plant’s first layoffs since 1999, when Goodyear announced the facility was closing except for the mix center. That decision later was reversed.Edmondson said she understood other Goodyear plants had layoffs.

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